News

Network Rail, which owns and operates the UK's railway infrastructure, has extended its long-term partnership with HaCon for a further five years and will continue to use their train planning system TPS. The system enables train planners can create and adapt optimal train schedules across the complex railway infrastructure, constantly responding to the ever-increasing demands of passenger and freight needs across the country. Up to 300 train planners can use TPS to plan over 21,000 train services per da

‘The delay of the introduction of free-flow tolls at Dartford River Crossing disappointing as it may present additional costs to industry’ is the message from the Freight Transport Association (FTA). The Association has voiced its concern in response to the announcement by the Highways Agency (HA) that the planned technology to allow motorists to use the crossing without having to stop at barriers and pay is to be delayed by up to four weeks. Originally planned to be in place by the 28 October 2014, th

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) is embarking on a fully automated transportation system to help reduce highway traffic congestion by as much as 18 per cent, officials say, taking as many as 40,000 automobiles off the road and replacing them with a fleet of four-car trains that can accommodate up to 800 passengers. Said to be the first fully automated wide-scale urban transit system in the United States, the $5.2 billion Honolulu Rail Transit Project features a 20-mile elevated rai

The administration of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has proposed investments of US$4.23 billion to improve the country's highway network in 2015. The investments would fall under the PAC growth acceleration plan. The bill calls for transport infrastructure department DNIT to manage US$4 billion in highway maintenance and upkeep, including highway BR-381 in the state of Minas Gerais between highway junctions BR-116 in the city of Governador Valadares and state highway MG-020. Other large investments

Established in 2011, Indian technology and infrastructure company Vaaan has been awarded two major projects valued at around US$25 million from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) through its highway operations management agency, Indian Highways Management Company (IHMCL). The company is to deploy electronic toll collection (ETC) on 164 dedicated lanes across 82 public funded toll plazas in a bid to to reduce traffic congestion and commuting time. In addition, in a move to identify which h

More than 128,000 taps using contactless payment cards and devices have been made since Transport for London (TfL) launched the new option to pay across the London transport network on 16 September. The first day saw contactless used at more than 600 train stations across the Tube, DLR, Overground and National Rail stations that accept Oyster. Contactless payments have been available on the bus network since December 2012. This week has seen a further significant rise in the number of taps on buses w

North Yorkshire County Council continues to invest in improved parking facilities for residents and visitors, with the installation of 19 new Parkeon Strada Transfer terminals in Northallerton High Street. The council is also investing for the first time in the Parkeon Parkfolio parking information and management system, with each terminal connected to the cloud-based platform, enabling the local authority to monitor the terminals remotely. Parkfolio generates alerts and provides access to financial info

A new report, released in advance of United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Summit on 23 September, claims that more than US$100 trillion in cumulative public and private spending could be saved and 1,700 megatons of annual carbon dioxide (CO2) - a 40 percent reduction of urban passenger transport emissions - could be eliminated by 2050 if the world expands public transportation, walking and cycling in cities. The report, A Global High Shift Scenario, from the Institute for Transportation Development

Mercedes-Benz is expanding its research activities in the US, now that it has received a licence permitting it to test autonomous vehicles on public roads in California. The company says it now plans to take autonomous driving to a new level in the US, despite the differences between US and German traffic systems, which it says are vast. While motoring in Germany commonly takes place on narrow roads, the roads in the USA are frequently wider and may have more than six or even eight lanes. Traffic lights

Mobile Visual Information Systems (MVIS) and the creator of the Intellicone temporary work zone safety system, Highway Resource Solutions (HRS), have teamed up to create the Safelane automated traffic management system and the Multisafe Smart VMS. The companies say these are the first temporary road maintenance safety solutions to combine industry-leading modular electronic perimeters and variable message signs (VMS), providing a cost-efficient method of improving the safety of both road workers and road

RedflexRed-radar, Redflex’s innovative fixed traffic enforcement solution has received type approval from the Traffic, Acoustics and Vibration sector at the Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS) in Switzerland. RedflexRed-radar is a fixed traffic enforcement solution, utilising proprietary Redflex non-intrusive mapping radar technology with high resolution cameras to detect and photograph intersection red light and speed offences across up to six lanes of traffic. The proprietary Redflex phase monopulse

Valeo has announced the seven teams selected by its experts to in a challenge to develop a solution to revolutionise the automobile of 2030, with the chance of winning the €100,000 first prize. The shortlisted teams, from Australia, Germany, the United States, Brazil, Canada and India, selected from 1,000 teams from 55 countries, will present their project to the Challenge jury during the 2014 Paris Motor Show. The teams are: UTS Unleashed team from the University of Technology Sydney, Australia Sade

Kapsch CarrierCom, in partnership with Sierra Wireless, has launched two improved railway cab radios. The RC900 voice and data cab radio and the RD900 data radio are equipped with the latest Sierra Wireless HPRM1radio modules called, which ensure additional robustness against unwanted radio interference and blocking. A stable radio connection is an essential requirement for the railway system. Due to the growing networks of public operators, more and more interference is affecting the communication withi

Colombia plans to award the construction of four more highways by November as part of a US$25 billion plan to expand and improve road quality and logistics, President Juan Manuel Santos said. Once the contracts are signed, the government will have wrapped up the concessions to build nine highways, the first leg of its 4G plan to build 8,000km of roads. Most of the projects will be carried out under public-private partnerships. "We have four more [highways] to award ... Those projects will be awarded b